Eliminating Mold and Making a Home More Comfortable in Hinsdale, MA
Challenge
This homeowner in Hinsdale, MA called us out to their home to take a look at some serious issues they were experiencing. The most alarming issue was the mold in their attic on their existing fiberglass insulation. They were also having trouble keeping their home warm in the cold season. We got to this home and began conducting our Full Home Energy Evaluation. We first ask the homeowner what their main concerns were, again. Now we know their areas of concern and can better evaluate the efficiency of their home. After conducting the Evaluation, we saw the mold on their existing fiberglass insulation in the attic. We also noticed that fiberglass was their only form of insulation. Attics without proper insulation will allow hostile outdoor temperatures into your attic. In the summer, vented and not properly insulated attics can get up to 140 degrees, and in the winter as low as 30 degrees. Fiberglass insulation is light and fluffy, allowing air to leak in and out of your home with ease. Fiberglass also can get pretty nasty over time. Over years it sits collecting dirt, dust, pollen, bugs, and rodent feces. This specific home, as mentioned above had mold on their existing fiberglass. In the cold season, they were constantly paying to reheat their home because of the amount of heat leakage from the attic. Now that we know the problems in this home, we can go ahead with our Dr. Energy Saver treatments to make these homeowners more healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient all year round.
Solution
First, we need to conduct the unpleasant task of removing all of the old, nasty fiberglass insulation. We remove the insulation batts and vacuum up the remains. We properly dispose of the materials and are ready for our next step. Now we need to tackle the mold issue. To do this, we fog the entire attic with our Mold-X Neutralizer to kill mold and eliminate the production of mold spores. Fogging the Mold-X gets the product into all of the nooks and crannies of the attic. Now we are ready for our SuperAttic Conversion treatment. The first thing we do is install our 4” EPS SilverGlo foam board insulation. Dr. Energy Saver’s SilverGlo is infused with graphite which drastically increases the R-Value. We make sure to air seal in between the foam boards to prevent any air leakage. Then we secure these foam boards into place with 5” screws and 3” washers. These foam boards have a foil face on each sides which has two benefits. It reflects heat out in the summer, and heat back in during the winter. Since this is still a vented attic space, SilverGlo keeps the roof cold in the winter to prevent ice damming. In the summer, the heat will be vented out, instead of coming in. Thanks to Dr. Energy Saver by Eco Energy Solutions, these homeowners have a healthy, comfortable, energy efficient home!!!
